Williams to challenge incumbent

Wednesday

Dec 26, 2012 at 12:02 PMDec 26, 2012 at 12:04 PM

Erich Murphy

Questions abound in the mind of Jim Williams. He is concerned with how the city of Pontiac is spending its money and what seems to be important to it as opposed to its residents.Jim Williams has so many questions he feels he needs to be in a position to make his queries important. The action he sees as best to get answers is to become a member of the city council. That is why Williams will be seeking a seat in the Fourth Ward.Williams, a Democrat, will be looking at challenging incumbent Curt Myers, a Republican, in the April election.“I have a lot of questions on what the city does and how it spends money,” Williams said in a recent interview with the Daily Leader.He does not agree with the city in how it spends its money and its ideology. One point is the Pontiac museum in the old Square West building.“I disagree with the expenditures on the Square West building,” Williams said. “Now I hear they are asking for more money from the state of Illinois — $400,000 or approximately that — to put an elevator in. Is the elevator for cars upstairs? Is it for tourists or personal use? What’s it for?”Williams’ focus on city expenditures is tourism. He said tourism, itself, is a good thing for the city. What is needed is more truthful information. “I disagree a lot with the mayor (Bob Russell) and (city administrator) Bob Karls with this image of tourism and the museums,” Williams said. “I agree that it has helped the city bring in more tourists and more people. I do not think they (tourists) are spending as much money as sometimes the information (the city provides indicates).”Dealing with tourists is something Williams is familiar with through his connection with the Threshermen’s Reunion. He said that the Reunion would bring in 8,000 to 12,000 people over the Labor Day weekend, while the city is happy to be getting an annual count of 5,200 people for the museums.“I suggested to the mayor one evening while having dinner that when tourists come to Pontiac to have events that will keep them more than two hours in the morning and another group two hours in the afternoon,” Williams said. “They need something that will keep them overnight so businesses, such as restaurants and service stations, motels will benefit.“To me, the parade is as large and as important to tourism as the museums. I think it could be a very good partnership.”As an insurance agent will do when trying to figure out what policy may be best for a client, Williams said he is interested in finding out what it best for the city. That is why he has many questions and is looking for answers to help come up with the best policy for the city to move forward in the most economical manner.Williams was born in Hannibal, Mo., and his family moved to East Peoria in the early 1940s. Williams went through the East Peoria school system, graduating from East Peoria High School. He attended Bradley University before landing a sales/marketing job with Sealtest.Sealtest had him transferred to Pontiac, where he stayed with the company until 1975. He was hired by Tom Viemont as a Country Companies agent that year.In 1988, Williams purchased the PH Lannon Agency in Saunemin. The business, itself, has been in operation for more than 100 years and has offices in Saunemin and Forrest.Williams has two daughters and four grandchildren.